One Windy Night
by SheWhoDreamsofRed
Summary: Sarah is walking home on a windy night when she runs into a familiar face. She wants him to leave her alone, but he's a hard man to turn down. Even if she did turn him down once already.


**Another Jareth/Sarah fic! This one isn't at all related to my other one, except for the fact that they have the same pairing and come from the same movie. I enjoyed writing this one. Hope you like it!

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Sarah woke up one night in a cold sweat, gasping for breath. Another nightmare. She'd had them ever since the Labyrinth, always the same thing - that horrible, final moment. She could hear her voice say firmly "You have no power over me." That wasn't the part that disturbed her, though. It was what came after. It was when Jareth's face contorted into a mask of agony and loss, his eyes filled with such intense pain. She hated seeing the light-hearted, mischievous Goblin King suffer so.

Sighing, Sarah slid out of bed and wandered downstairs towards the kitchen for a glass of water. She supposed she could always call the Goblin King to her and apolgize, but she was too scared of what how he would react. After all, she had refused him and trampled all over the emotions he'd had for her. Shuddering at the thought of his anger, Sarah filled a glass with water and took a sip.

"Eugh!" Sarah choked, promptly spitting it out. "What's _in _this stuff?" Then she remembered her stepmother telling her earlier that day that their water filter had broken. Still gagging on the awful taste that lingered in her mouth, she decided she may as well walk to the store and buy a bottled water. "It's not like I'm going to get any more sleep tonight." She grumbled.

Ten minutes later, Sarah was trudging to the store in the clothes she had hastily thrown on to replace her pajamas. It was a bitter night, with the wind howling and whipping at her thin denim jacket. Shivering, she pulled the jacket tighter around her and continued on.

When she stumbled into the small 24-hour convenience store, the clerk looked up, surprised. "Out this late at night?" she asked, curious.

Sarah shrugged. "Water filter's broken." She said simply. "I was thirsty."

"Ah." The clerk went back to looking at her magazine and Sarah got a bottled water out of the fridge in the back of the shop, grabbing a bag of chips on the way. She paid at the register and then trudged back out into the cold.

As she walked down the sidewalk, a blur of brown and white swooped in out of nowhere and snatched the bag of chips out of her hands. "Hey!" Sarah protested, chasing after the thief.

The culprit alighted on a fencepost and cocked its head at her curiously, the bag of chips in its beak. It was a barn owl, and a very familiar one. Sarah scowled. "Give it back, Goblin King." She said sternly.

"How did you know it was me?" inquired the smooth baritone as the Goblin King appeared before her, holding out the bag. "As I recall, you've only seen me as an owl once."

"Once was enough." Sarah replied curtly, snatching the bag back. "Besides, who else loves to torment me?"  
Jareth's lips curved upward in a smug grin. "Point taken."

"Why are you here anyways?" Sarah demanded, trying not to blush as she took in the Goblin King's appearance. Good Lord, he looked amazing in jeans... "Don't you have things to do? Goblins to order around, children to steal?"

"Not at the moment." Jareth replied blithely. "So I decided to come visit the Aboveground and what do I see? The champion of my Labyrinth walking home in the dead of night, in freezing temperatures."

"Yeah, well, it was nice seeing you too, have a good day, BYE." Sarah replied, turning away quickly to hide her blush. Curse her raging hormones!

"Not so fast." Jareth said, grabbing her arm. "It's been a year, Sarah. Don't you think we have some catching up to do?"

"Oh?" Sarah said sarcastically. "Why? So you can see just how dull and boring my life is?"

"Humor me, please."

"Fine." Sarah grumbled. "But not out here, its far too cold."

"Very well." Jareth agreed. "Do you have anyplace in mind?"

Sarah raised an eyebrow at the Goblin King. "If there's anyway you could take me with you when you do that disappearing thing, I'd appreciate getting back to my home as soon as possible."

Jareth sighed. "Fine." he conceded. "But I'm only going to do this once."

Before Sarah could reply to that, he had grabbed her hand and the world around them winked out of view, only to be replaced by the warm lights of the her living room. "Wow." Sarah remarked. "Um, thanks."

"Now," Jareth commanded, pulling out a chair and sitting on it. "Tell me how things have been since you left my Labyrinth."

There was a hint of bitterness in his voice that did not go unnoticed by Sarah. Momentarily ignoring it, she began to tell Jareth about how she'd made up with her stepmother, and that she'd joined the drama club at school and was playing the wicked Queen in the production of Snow White...

"Wait, you're the _wicked_ Queen?" Jareth repeated, slightly surprised. "How'd you manage that?"

"Simple." Sarah replied with a smirk. "I acted the way I thought you would."

Jareth snorted. "I'm not sure whether I should be flattered or insulted." He remarked dryly.

Sarah smirked wider and continued to talk to Jareth about what had happened. She mentioned how Toby's first words had been "magic dance" (Jareth chuckled at this, as if enjoying a private joke) and how her best friend Katelyn had fallen head over heels for Ruki, the lead singer of a Japanese band **(AN: Sorry! But I was watching the Gazette's PV for the Invisible Wall and simply had to put Ruki somewhere in here!). **

Jareth raised an eyebrow. "You've been busy." He commented.

"And you?" Sarah asked. "I trust you haven't been lazing away in your castle doing absolutely nothing."

"Of course not." Jareth said, sounding miffed that she would even suggest such a thing. "I've been doing what I've always done – taking children that have been wished away, taunting the runners that try to rescue those children, threatening my goblins with the Bog of Eternal Stench, and of course making countless renovations to my Labyrinth."

"Oh." The two lapsed into silence, having run out of things to say. Well, actually there was something they both wanted to say very much, but didn't dare for fear of the other's reaction. Sarah shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry." She blurted.

Jareth fixed his gaze on her, confused. "For what?" He asked.

"I…um…when I was last at the Labyrinth and I…when I refused you." She stammered. "I was only fifteen; I didn't fully understand…what it was you were saying. What you meant by it. I…you…I'm sorry!" She turned her head away, to hide the brilliant red blush forming on her cheeks.

Jareth was silent for a few moments. Sarah scrunched her eyes shut. _He's angry, he's angry, he's…_

She was jerked out of her thoughts by Jareth reaching out to cup her cheek. She turned to face him, and his eyes were impossibly soft. "Sarah." He said softly. "I should be the one who's sorry. I put you through so much, and then I had the audacity to ask you to do something you were absolutely unprepared for." His thumb rubbed circles on her cheek. "Of course, my offer still stands…"

Sarah threw her arms around Jareth's neck and collided with him, practically throwing herself in his lap. "I accept!" She cried. "I accept, Jareth. I'm yours."

Jareth slid his arms around the girl's waist, leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to her lips. She responded to the kiss and soon it became passionate and heated. When they finally broke apart they were both panting.

"My Queen." Jareth purred, nuzzling Sarah's neck.

"In another two years." Sarah replied.

Jareth pulled back and frowned. "What?" He asked, eyes glinting dangerously.

Sarah sighed. "In two years I finish school and become an adult." She explained. "Until then, we can certainly see each other, but my parents would kill me if I got married before I was eighteen."

Jareth just frowned. "They wouldn't dare." He growled.

"Jareth, you're who-knows-how-many-centuries old." Sarah said exasperatedly. "Will two years of waiting really be that bad?"

"But…oh, fine." He grumbled. "This had better be worth it."

Sarah smirked and rested her forehead against his. "Of course it will be." She teased. "You're getting ME."

Jareth laughed. "Point taken." He agreed, pressing his lips to her temple.

Sarah smiled and allowed him to kiss her softly. She had a feeling her nightmares wouldn't bother her again now.


End file.
